Never Too Late to Start Early Ed.

Dear Leading Ladies, 

Access to quality education remains one of the primary concerns of Leading Ladies. Until all children in this country go to schools with equal resources, optimum class sizes, up-to-date books and technology, support services, trained teachers, and nutrition supplements and health care as needed, children in underrepresented communities and BIPOC populations will continue to fall behind and be unable to catch up in school and in life. 

Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Good schools won’t solve all the problems

That said, we agree with Lake Forest College Professor Cristina Viviana Groeger, author of The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston, who recently wrote in the Boston Globe Magazine, “the reality is that education is no panacea for inequality.” Her years of studying the Boston school system has convinced Groeger that too much focus on the educational system as the route to solve society’s ills can draw attention away from policies that are causing more inequality today. She points to the wealthy in our society practicing “opportunity hoarding” in certain professions and elite schools; the pervasive low wages and devaluation of jobs in the areas of child care and domestic labor; and the pressure to disband unions all as systematic methods employed to maintain the status quo of inequality.

Free universal pre-K is still a good start

Nonetheless, and Groeger subscribes to this opinion as well, the establishment of universal free pre-K could help lead to meaningful reforms in the long run and aid children and families in the short run. 

The evidence has long been in, and is now substantiated by a new 2021 study using data from Boston children who were randomly selected for a pre-K program in the 1990s. The statistics show, as quoted in an article in NPR, 

“These kids were less likely to get suspended from school, less likely to skip class, and less likely to get in trouble and be placed in a juvenile detention facility. They were more likely to take the SATs and prepare for college.
The most eye-popping effects the researchers find are on high school graduation and college enrollment rates. The kids who got accepted into preschool ended up having a high-school graduation rate of 70% — six percentage points higher than the kids who were denied preschool, who saw a graduation rate of only 64%. And 54% of the preschoolers ended up going to college after they graduated — eight percentage points higher than their counterparts who didn't go to preschool. These effects were bigger for boys than for girls.” 

And this data was for children who only attended pre-K for one year, not the two that are considered ideal. Another study showed that children who attended preschool were less likely to get arrested, go on welfare or be on welfare as adults, and more likely to earn more. The author of that study, Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, said “Educating toddlers is much more powerful than educating high-schoolers, college students, or adults in, for example, job-training programs.” 

Who gets universal day care now?

Unfortunately, there are still few programs in the country. “Only two states, Vermont and Florida, offer truly universal free pre-K, meaning they’re not capped in any way, so every child can enroll in the pre-K programs (and most do),” writes Jennifer Barrett in her new book, Think Like a Breadwinner. “But several cities have also taken initiatives to establish universal pre-K programs, including Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, Nashville, Los Angeles, and New York City.

Indeed, the universal 3-K (that is, for three-to four-year-olds) and Pre-K  programs (for four-to five-year-olds) established by the de Blasio administration in New York City set a good example for the rest of the country. In NYC, the parents of any child who will turn three during the calendar year can sign up for free pre-K, although there is a waiting list in several districts. There are fees for before and after regular hours (before 9 and after 3, but financial support is offered for families who need it. 

Programs such as that in NYC go a long way to help families by making it easier for them to find jobs and fulfill their work responsibilities; reduce their stress on the job; and pursue advancements in their career more easily. For example, “In the years since Washington, D.C., began offering two years of universal preschool, the city’s maternal labor force participation rate increased by about 12 percentage points, with 10 percentage points attributable to preschool expansion,” according to the Center for American Progress. This is a tremendous boon to the economy of the city and to the economic well-being of many families. 

Moreover, programs such as NYC’s 3-K and pre-K give children quality daycare that prepares them for elementary school, helping to level the playing field when they enter school with other children who have had high quality private nursery school experiences. Children in universal public daycare enjoy stimulating learning experiences, lessons in sharing, interaction, and cooperation that will aid in their success for years to come. 

So, as we consider the problems of equal access to quality education and the larger issues of inequality in our society, we find some reasons for optimism.

If the rest of the country offered universal free pre-K, research out of the University of Chicago shows there would be an impressive positive effect on health care, reduction in crime, parental income, and children’s IQ. If the program hours extended beyond regular school hours to more closely correspond to the working hours of most parents, the positive effects would expand exponentially. 

And for those who worry the country can’t afford universal free pre-K, the facts do not support the concern. In fact, the Center for American Progress analysis concluded that the US “would see a net benefit of $83.3 billion for each annual cohort of four-year-olds enrolled in pre-K programs,” according to Barrett.

What can we do?

Let your cities, towns, state and federal representatives and senators, as well as your school boards, know how important universal 3-K and pre-K are to leveling the playing field for our children and grandchildren. Sure, they are not a panacea, but they can expand opportunity and open new doors to success for millions of children. Moreover, these programs improve the earning power of so many parents who struggle every day with caring for children and working full-time. 

And let President Biden know you are behind his administration on this, too. For the details of his early education plan, click here: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11751

Where there are children, there is always hope.

Be well,

Therese
Judy
Mary
Beth
Leading Ladies Executive Team
Leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org